


kiss me on this cold december night

by helenfightslikepoetry



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Breakfast in Bed, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Girls Kissing, Implied Sexual Content, but mostly it's very soft, nothing major tho, slightly nsfw?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:34:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27814642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helenfightslikepoetry/pseuds/helenfightslikepoetry
Summary: “Would you like to decorate the Christmas tree with me today?” Aline asked, flashing her a brilliant smile. They hadn’t done that the previous year despite having tons of Christmas decorations; a few months after being exiled there, they hadn’t been in a mood to celebrate something as mundane as Christmas.Aline and Helen decorate the tree for their first Christmas as a married couple. Post COFH and pre TDA.
Relationships: Helen Blackthorn/Aline Penhallow
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	kiss me on this cold december night

**Author's Note:**

> happy december!

"Aline." 

Aline was vaguely aware of a voice calling her name. In her sleep-ridden state she didn't fully register it so she ignored it in a hope that whoever it was that was trying to wake her up, would give up and leave her alone. 

But they're persistent. 

"Aline, sweetie," the voice sang, and this time Aline was conscious enough to recognize it. She smiled sleepily, still not budging or opening her eyes, and still keeping her back to them. 

When she doesn't respond it's followed by a soft kiss on her shoulder. She felt the mattress dip beside her as a warm body crawled next to her and when she opened her eyes, they were met by the blue-green ones of her wife. She was smiling at her sweetly, gently stroking some of her black hair away from her face. "Good morning sleepy." 

Aline groaned and rolled over so she was on her back, some of the blanket falling off her naked body as she did so. She massaged her forehead with one hand; it was Saturday. She wasn't sure what time it was, but surely it was still too early to get up. Unbeknownst to her, Helen was looking at her with an amused expression on her face. 

"Are you gonna ignore me all morning?" She asked playfully, her finger tracing the marriage rune on her chest that Helen herself had drawn on their wedding day. 

"I might," Aline answered but turned back onto her side to look at her wife, not bothering to try and hide the smile that made its way across her face. It would be a lost battle. 

It still felt weird to call Helen her wife. It was new, and exciting, and so, so wonderful. They’d gotten married two months earlier and had been together for two years, and while some may perceive that a short amount of time, for them it couldn't have happened fast enough. 

Helen smiled back at her brightly, a twinkle in her eye, no doubt feeling confident in her victory. Just when she was about to sit up, Aline put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from getting up and lightly pressed her back to the bed beside her before sinking her fingers into her soft, blonde hair and kissing her eagerly. 

It was a slow, lazy kiss, mouths sliding against each other, neither of them in any hurry to deepen it. Helen placed her hand on Aline's chest, gently pushing her backwards so she was on top of her. She added more pressure to the kiss and ran her fingertips lightly on Aline's cheek, eliciting a moan from her at the sudden intensity of their embrace. She felt Helen smile against her mouth as she ran her hand from her face down to her naked breast, taking one nipple between her thumb and forefinger, teasing it. Aline gasped, momentarily stopping the kiss and slipped her hands underneath Helen's shirt and dug her nails into her back, making her moan in turn. 

Helen moved her lips to her collar bone, sucking on it before planting a gentle kiss on the same spot, her hand now caressing Aline’s other breast, sending all remaining rational thoughts from her mind. The need to feel Helen’s lips on hers again became too much so she took her face between her hands and gently raised it so she could press their lips together again. The kiss was more demanding this time, deeper and hungrier. She was still cradling Helen’s face when she felt her hand move from her breasts onto her stomach, then even lower, so close to where she desperately wanted it.

And she stopped there. She broke away from the kiss abruptly and used her other hand to gently stroke Aline’s hair.

"I made you some breakfast. If you don't get up soon, it'll go cold," she said, her chest heaving slightly as she tried to regain her breathing. Then, astonishingly quickly, a mischievous smile spread across her face. "Or, I might accidentally leave the window open and an owl could snatch it up before you can say ‘breakfast’" she continued dramatically with widened eyes, sitting up on their bed to straddle her despite Aline’s attempts of stopping her, and looking down at Aline with a smug expression that, impressive as it was, didn't completely hide her still slightly flustered state. 

Aline groaned. She was frustrated and she wanted more. How could she not after that?

"That would never happen and you know it," she replied but sat up despite herself. She wrapped the blanket around her bare chest, looking for a shirt to put on. Helen was quick to present her one, the exact same one she herself had removed from Aline the night before. She pecked her on the lips and then got up and strode to the kitchen to presumably retrieve the breakfast she had made for her. It gave Aline a chance to gather herself and get a grip, to steady herself as Helen had managed to do so effortlessly. 

A few minutes later she returned carrying a rustic wooden tray. She put it gracefully on Aline's lap, careful not to spill any of the hot coffee. 

"Aaw babe, it looks delicious," Aline sighed as she took in the sight in front of her - two roasted slices of bread, one with a fried egg and one with some spinach and tomatoes. Next to the plate of bread was a small bowl of yoghurt and berries. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this wonderful wake up call?" she asked, forgetting her sexual frustration altogether and took a bite of the spinach and tomato sandwich, savouring the pleasant taste in her mouth. 

"I just wanted to do something nice for my wife,” Helen shrugged as nonchalantly as she could. It didn’t go unnoticed by Aline how her lips curled into a radiating smile at the word ‘wife’. It seemed she felt just as giddy and excited about the thought as Aline did. And she loved it. 

But she also felt suspicious and narrowed her eyes at her. "What are you plotting?" 

"Nothing! I'm not plotting anything," Helen said in a voice too high pitched to be innocent. 

"Oh please, darling. I may be stupid but I'm not a total idiot." 

"I really am not planning anything," she laughed and took a sip of Aline's coffee. "I just woke up in a good mood and thought it'd be nice to make something nice for you. You look cute when you're sleeping," she added coyly and tilted her head slightly as she watched Aline starting to destroy the breakfast she'd prepared for her. 

Aline knew she was blushing but decided to ignore it. Instead she handed her sandwich over to Helen, offering her a bite which she happily accepted, and they spent the next half an hour huddled under the covers sharing the rest of the breakfast, peppering each others’ skin and lips with soft kisses, giggling at nothing in particular. It was a stark contrast to the slow passion and hushed voices of the night before.

The frosty window of their bedroom indicated that the temperature outside was already getting colder than neither of them were accustomed to, probably nearing freezing even by Aline’s standards. She’d grown up in Beijing and then Idris, so she wasn’t a complete stranger to the cold climate; only both in Beijing and Idris it wasn’t cold all the time like it was on Wrangel Island, where it was monotonously cold throughout the year. It got a bit too much especially on Helen every now and then, but after the tedious first year she was determined to make it through their exile her head held up high, not giving the Clave and their bigoted ways the satisfaction of her withering away, crumpled in a far away corner. 

Aline couldn’t be more proud of her. 

And it was beautiful on Wrangel Island. It was beautiful in a different way, different from Los Angeles and Idris. Where LA was all about the sun, ocean, desert and the happy voices of the surfing and sunbathing people on the beach, and Idris was mostly picturesque countryside untouched by modern technology and infrastructure, the beauty of Wrangel Island was more rugged and serene, and Aline had to admit that in a way, it was growing on her. Even if the reason they were there did not, and would not. 

"I used to wish for a white Christmas, you know," Helen said quietly after a while, her gaze on the frozy window as well. "You have to be careful what you wish for, huh? It might come true," she added with a half-hearted smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

"It's not like you asked for polar bears. I swear I saw one when I was sculpting the other day," Aline replied, a poor attempt at a joke. Even though the bit of the polar bear was true. 

“Mark did, once,” she replied, now smiling fondly at the memory. "We were talking about how nice it would be if we had snow, and he said it would be even cooler if there were polar bears and penguins. Then he and Jules wondered who’d win in a fight, Mark or a polar bear.”

“A polar bear,” Aline replied without hesitation. 

“One hundred per cent,” Helen agreed in a deadpan voice. Her face was so serious that Aline couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and soon they were both laughing at the idea of Mark battling a polar bear and running for his life when he’d realise it was a hopeless attempt.

“Well, it seems I’ll need to have a word with your brother the next time I see him,” Aline said after recovering from the spontaneous outburst of laughter. “I was not amused to find that white bastard wandering about my backyard.”

Helen chuckled at her in response and took her hand in hers, playing with her fingers. Her thumb brushed lightly over the Blackthorn family ring she'd been proudly wearing for quite some time now. A physical sign to show everyone who she belonged to, long before the matching Wedded Union runes on their chests and arms. 

“I have a question and you need to be honest with me,” Aline said after a short silence, raising her gaze from their entwined hands to her wife, who now looked confused at her choice of words and more formal tone that she’d used only moments before. 

“Yes?” She asked quizzically, furrowing her brows slightly and tilting her head in puzzlement. 

“Would you like to decorate the Christmas tree with me today?” Aline asked, flashing her a brilliant smile. They hadn’t done that the previous year despite having tons of Christmas decorations; a few months after being exiled there, they hadn’t been in a mood to celebrate something as mundane as Christmas. 

Helen’s face broke into a slow smile as well, and Aline started to feel more and more excited by the idea. Seeing her wife smile happily like that always made her heart feel like it was bursting out of her chest, and this time wasn’t an exception. 

So they had gotten up and while Helen had taken the empty dishes into the kitchen to be washed later, Aline skipped to their wardrobe, knowing exactly what she was looking for. Before any threats of exiles, Helen had decided that they needed ugly Christmas sweaters for the upcoming Christmas. When Aline had pointed out that Christmas was a good few months away yet, she’d shrugged and pointed out that all the good ones would be gone if they left it to the last minute. So they’d found an outlet store that by some miracle sold ugly Christmas sweaters months before Christmas. Helen’s was a bright red one with a snowman in sunglasses, lit up Christmas lights wrapped around its body and a text that boldly said, "I'm Sexy And I Snow It". Her face had lit up when Aline had presented it to her at the store, a wide grin on her face despite the blush that tinged her cheeks pink. She'd immediately clutched it to her chest and said she loved it, before proceeding to find an equally ugly one for Aline. Instead, she'd found a really cute one, green with a dachshund that was wearing antlers, red nose and a red sweater. They weren't matching, but with just the two of them it wasn't much of a disaster anyway. 

She pulled her green one over her head and slipped into black jeans. When her wife returned to their bedroom, her face broke into a wide grin at the sight of Aline in her cute sweater, and she grabbed her bolder one from the bed where Aline had placed it before putting it on as gracefully as she managed to do everything.

After making sure it was absolutely allowed and legal to go to the woods and cut down a tree, they’d done exactly that - after years of physical training and handling of swords, axes and weapons in every form it proved to be a piece of cake for the two of them. Cheeks pink and tips of hair white from the cold, they had set up the tree in their living room and started to decorate it without further ado. 

Mundane Christmas songs were playing softly in the background - Helen, who had grown up more prone to the mundane world than Aline had, had pretty much introduced Aline to the whole concept of Christmas. She had obviously known of Christmas, but in general it was just another mundane thing for Shadowhunters who didn't collectively celebrate the mundane holidays. 

But the Blackthorns were different from the Panhallows in many ways. They had celebrated Christmas, and Helen's enthusiasm about it had been contagious, so Aline had grown to adore it as well. It was hard not to, really. 

Everything was better when she got to do it with Helen. Cooking was more fun, with one of them chopping vegetables and other minding whatever it was they were making, working seamlessly together like they did when they were fighting demons. Folding laundry was more fun with Helen. Even studying the damn wards seemed more tolerable with Helen around her. 

So she really shouldn’t have been surprised to find that Christmas decorating was also extremely enjoyable done with her wife. Helen had tied a golden garland loosely around her neck, apparently deciding it looked better on Aline than the tree, and Aline had returned the favour by trying to hang a matching ornament ball on one of her pointed ears, but much to her dismay it had fallen off almost immediately and she hadn't bothered with decorating her wife since, concentrating on the tree instead.

Their tree was massive. It towered well above them, the treetop almost touching the ceiling of their cabin. It was one of the good things about Wrangel Island - the woods on that Arctic island were impressive, and the Christmas tree they had now was more gorgeous than any plastic tree they would have had to settle for in LA could have been. 

"Where's the star?" Helen asked as she went through the myriad of decorations. Aline scanned through them - there were ornament balls in different colours and sizes, garlands, candy canes and even a few nutcrackers but true enough, the star was nowhere to be seen. 

"That's weird. You sure we have a star?" she responded although she was sure they did have a star. 

"I am sure," Helen confirmed, frowning slightly as she rummaged through the boxes that had contained said decorations only moments earlier. 

Aline couldn't help but smile at the sight of her wife. She looked cute in her flashy sweater.

While Helen continued looking for the star, Aline picked up a candy cane and placed it on an empty branch. She stood back and regarded the tree; it started to look quite good, and she didn't want to ruin it by decorating it  _ too much. _ She wanted the tree to show underneath its decorating. 

"There it is," Helen said and presented the silver star to Aline. Helen was taller of the two of them, so it made sense for her to place it on the top. But instead of reaching out to the tree top, she smiled mischievously at Aline and stepped closer to her, tying the wire on Aline's ponytail instead, twisting it for a minute until it was steadily balanced on her head. She wrapped her arms around her and smirked down at her, clearly happy with her achievement. 

"Really, Helen?" Aline asked, raising her eyebrow and tried to look unimpressed. Her lips tilted up on their own accord, and she knew she failed miserably. 

"What? It's cute," her wife laughed softly and leaned down to brush her lips with her own. It was probably meant to be a brief kiss but Aline lifted her hands, gently cupping her face and holding her in place. She felt Helen's arms tighten around her and she sighed against her lips as she deepened the kiss, trailing her tongue along Helen's bottom lip, begging for entrance. She parted her lips and allowed Aline's tongue to gently explore her mouth, moaning softly into the kiss. 

Helen started to push her backwards until her back collided with the wall and stopped the kiss for breath, leaning back ever so slightly. Her eyes were still closed as Aline ran her hand along her cheek and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind a pointed ear. She opened her eyes and flashed her a quick smile before reconnecting their lips and grabbing the hem of Aline's sweater, tugging it upward. Aline lifted her hands and broke away from Helen's lip to allow the piece of clothing be removed off her-

Until it got stuck in the star Helen had placed on her head. Properly stuck. She heard Helen giggle and a second later she felt gentle fingers prying the fabric away, tugging it until it was finally disentangled from the star, leaving Aline's black hair a disarray and her face more than a little grumpy. 

"Oh my god, I'm sorry," Helen giggled apologetically, one hand covering her mouth and one fixing Aline's hair the best that she could. "I'm so sorry baby, but that was hilarious." 

"You'd think so, you're not the one stuck in a sweater by a freaking star." 

"No, but you looked so adorable," she replied and with that, she finally reached out to untie the offending item from Aline's hair, trying to stifle her laughter and failing horribly. And Aline didn't mind, not really. She couldn't be annoyed when her wife looked so happy. Despite their determination, it wasn't a given these days, but things had certainly started to get better.

"So, do you think you can do what you were supposed to and actually put that thing on top of the tree?" she asked teasingly. 

"I think so," Helen answered and winked at her before making her way toward the Christmas tree. She had to use a stool to be able to reach the top and then, after a lot of wringing and twisting she was finally happy with the angle and how the decoration looked on the tree top. "Who thought it was a good idea to put a star on a tree top anyway?" She asked as she stood back and admired their work. "It doesn't make any sense.”

"The aesthetic?" Aline shrugged and wrapped her arms around her wife from behind. 

"Mmm," she hummed in response and continued to take in the tree. "I love Christmas." 

"I love you." 

"Smooth," she laughed, turning her head enough to be able to press a kiss on her cheek. "I love you too." 

Aline lowered her head, dropping kisses on her shoulder over the woollen fabric, then up her neck until her mouth rested right next to her ear and whispered in a hushed voice, "Do you want to pick up where we left off in the morning?" 

Helen swiftly turned around in her arms and cast her a wicked grin before lowering her eyes to her lips and running her tongue along her bottom lip. She leaned down and pressed her lips against hers in a lingering kiss. 

"Lead the way."

Aline lowered her arms, looped them under her legs and lifted her up, feeling Helen wrap her legs around her waist, and tightened her grip before reconnecting their lips and making their way back to the bedroom and onto the uncharacteristically unmade bed. 

**Author's Note:**

> based on a tumblr prompt again because i Iack imagination:  
> "Your OTP is decorating the Christmas tree when person A playfully puts the star on person B's head." @otpprompts
> 
> and these are the christmas sweaters i based helen and aline's sweaters on:  
> [aline](https://static.glami.lt/img/234609612.jpg)  
> [helen](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/3010/6816/products/W-SNOWIT-R_1200x1200.gif?v=1601305263)


End file.
